Qaddafi’s Son Is Considering Investing in Dam, Ethanol Project in Zimbabwe
By Lauren van der Westhuizen – Aug 25, 2010 9:43 PM GMT+1000
Saadi Qaddafi, one of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s sons, has expressed
interest in building an ethanol plant in Zimbabwe’s Masvingo Province, the
Zimbabwe Reporter said.
Gaddafi is visiting the southern African country this week to assess Libyan
investment opportunities in agriculture and tourism, the newspaper said. The
former professional football player met with Zimbabwe President Robert
Mugabe on Aug. 23.
During the visit he expressed interest in reviving the Tokwe-Mukosi dam
project to irrigate a sugar cane plantation that will be used for the
manufacture of ethanol, the newspaper said.
Situated south of Masvingo City in the vicinity of Zimbabwe’s sugar estates,
the $130 million project has been stalled since 1998 due to lack of funds.
Billy Rautenbach, a Zimbabwe investor slapped with sanctions by the European
Union for links to Mugabe’s regime, attempted to develop an ethanol project
in Masvingo last year but was forced to relocate the project to the
Manicaland Province due to a shortage of water, the Zimbabwe Herald reported
in March.